Tuscaloosa County unemployment up in January while Alabama's remains unchanged

By Patrick RupinskiBusiness Editor

Published: Monday, March 17, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 17, 2014 at 6:33 p.m.

Tuscaloosa County's unemployment rate rose 0.3 percent in January to 6.1 percent. The Alabama's official unemployment remained unchanged at 6.1 percent.

The state rate is seasonally adjust while county rates are not. Had the state rate not been seasonally adjusted, it, too, would have risen, 1.1 percent to 6.8 percent.

"I think what we are seeing is some of the effects of bad (wintry) weather and the layoffs in retailing following the Christmas shopping season," said Ahmad Ijaz, director of economic forecasting at the University of Alabama's Center for Business and Economic Research.

Retailers beef up their staffs with temporary workers starting in October to handle the holiday shopping season, when stores are busier and often opened extended hours. Those temporary workers are let go in January, which typically occurs every year, he said. The state lost 12,700 retailing jobs in January with about 600 of those jobs being in the Tuscaloosa metro area, which includes Tuscaloosa, Hale and Greene counties.

The harsh winter weather east of the Rockies also had an adverse impact, Ijaz said.

But overall, the employment picture is gradually improving, he said.

"Anytime the economy comes out of a recession, there is a slow recovery of jobs," Ijaz said. "One of the slowest (job) recoveries was from the 2001 recession," when it took four years for unemployment rate to fall to its pre-recession level.

The current recovery is taking even longer, he said. "We are now in the 74th month of recovery, and the employment level is way below where it was before the recession."

While the unemployment rate in January was higher than in December, the overall trend in employment continues to show a gradual improvement, he said.

As an economist, Ijaz said he likes to look an unemployment over a period of months to see how it is trending. One comparison is to compare the unemployment rate to where it was a year ago. In January 2013, the state's and Tuscaloosa County's unemployment rate were both 6.7 percent. While the rates have fallen, so have the sizes of the state and county labor force with fewer people in the workforce in January than there were a year earlier.

Counties with lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 4.6 percent, Lee County at 5.5 percent and Limestone and Cullman counties at 5.8 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are Wilcox County at 16.4 percent, Perry County at 13.2 percent and Bullock County at 12.7 percent.

Usually, the local and state unemployment rates come out a month later, except for January's rate, which comes out in March. The February unemployment numbers are scheduled to come out March 28.

<p>Tuscaloosa County's unemployment rate rose 0.3 percent in January to 6.1 percent. The Alabama's official unemployment remained unchanged at 6.1 percent.</p><p>The state rate is seasonally adjust while county rates are not. Had the state rate not been seasonally adjusted, it, too, would have risen, 1.1 percent to 6.8 percent.</p><p>"I think what we are seeing is some of the effects of bad (wintry) weather and the layoffs in retailing following the Christmas shopping season," said Ahmad Ijaz, director of economic forecasting at the University of Alabama's Center for Business and Economic Research.</p><p>Retailers beef up their staffs with temporary workers starting in October to handle the holiday shopping season, when stores are busier and often opened extended hours. Those temporary workers are let go in January, which typically occurs every year, he said. The state lost 12,700 retailing jobs in January with about 600 of those jobs being in the Tuscaloosa metro area, which includes Tuscaloosa, Hale and Greene counties.</p><p>The harsh winter weather east of the Rockies also had an adverse impact, Ijaz said.</p><p>But overall, the employment picture is gradually improving, he said.</p><p>"Anytime the economy comes out of a recession, there is a slow recovery of jobs," Ijaz said. "One of the slowest (job) recoveries was from the 2001 recession," when it took four years for unemployment rate to fall to its pre-recession level.</p><p>The current recovery is taking even longer, he said. "We are now in the 74th month of recovery, and the employment level is way below where it was before the recession."</p><p>While the unemployment rate in January was higher than in December, the overall trend in employment continues to show a gradual improvement, he said.</p><p>As an economist, Ijaz said he likes to look an unemployment over a period of months to see how it is trending. One comparison is to compare the unemployment rate to where it was a year ago. In January 2013, the state's and Tuscaloosa County's unemployment rate were both 6.7 percent. While the rates have fallen, so have the sizes of the state and county labor force with fewer people in the workforce in January than there were a year earlier.</p><p>Counties with lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 4.6 percent, Lee County at 5.5 percent and Limestone and Cullman counties at 5.8 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are Wilcox County at 16.4 percent, Perry County at 13.2 percent and Bullock County at 12.7 percent.</p><p>Usually, the local and state unemployment rates come out a month later, except for January's rate, which comes out in March. The February unemployment numbers are scheduled to come out March 28.</p>